Tips to navigate the job interview

Posted on 23. Oct, 2008 by Bill in Employment News

Tips to navigate the job interview

Let’s face it: All job interviews are challenging. Even on the most pleasant interviews, you still need to keep your guard up at all times and fight the urge to become a smidge too comfortable. - What are you supposed to do, though, if a job interview begins to go horribly wrong? Is there anything you can do to salvage the situation? The following tips can help you navigate these tricky waters like a true professional.

1Be prepared before you walk in the door. A time-tested technique for feeling confident on a job interview is to be hyper-prepared. Research the company in question, of course, but also research each individual who is scheduled to interview you on the big day. You can do this by using the search engine Google (www.google.com), as well as the search engine on your potential employer’s Web site. Also do what you can to learn about the person who held the job before you.

2 Have a plan for dealing with frazzled interviewers. Let’s say one of the people on your dance card shows up late and utterly unprepared to talk to you. Be gracious about the situation by allowing the person to get settled and offering to reschedule. If the interview can’t be rescheduled, kindly acknowledge how busy the person must be, and then say, "Would it be helpful for me to tell you about myself in relation to this job opening?"

3 Don’t take a hostile interviewer personally. What if you encounter a hiring manager who is irritable or antagonistic? For starters, stay calm. Remember that his or her mood swings likely have nothing to do with you; the interviewer might simply be having a bad day. As you converse, try to get a sense of whether this behavior might be an isolated incident or whether you really might not want to work closely with this person. Regardless of how the interviewer behaves, remain unruffled and don’t respond in kind.

4 Get a word in edgewise. If you find yourself in a meeting with an overly chatty interviewer, you may have a difficult time selling yourself. No matter what, though, you can leave a good impression, look for opportunities to make the conversation more interactive, show a genuine interest in the company, and say as much as you can about yourself without interrupting.

5 Tackle a group interview with class. If you’re being asked question after question by a room full of people, do this: Remain cool and collected, breathe before you answer each question, and make eye contact with all the interviewers as you speak.

6 Treat an inexperienced interviewer with dignity. Sometimes it’s obvious that an interviewer doesn’t know quite what to do. Start the conversation off in a non-insulting way. Ask questions about the company and then offer to describe your background and experience.

7 Prepare answers to tough questions. Such open-ended killers include, "What would you like to tell me about yourself?" and "Why should we hire you?" Rehearse answers ahead of time. Craft a brief description of who you are professionally and what your greatest strengths are. In two minutes or less, you should be able to match your specific abilities with the list of requirements for the job.

8 Help steer the car, but don’t drive it. Recognize that in most cases it’s a mistake for the job applicant to try to take control of the interview. Even if the interviewers are botching things, they have the right to direct the meeting.

9 Prepare your own questions. Never show up at an interview without being ready to ask good questions yourself. Your questions should reveal your understanding of issues at the company and that could turn the discussion toward your solutions and fresh ideas.

10 Make your own assessment. If you leave the interview cringing because things went awry, relax: It’s probably not that bad. Send follow-up notes thanking the interviewers for their time and stressing your interest in the position. But be honest when asking yourself this question: Do I really want to work here?

Author Laura T. Coffey can be reached at laura@ tentips.org

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One Response to “Tips to navigate the job interview”

  1. Yancey at You can learn basic employee rights

    24. Oct, 2008

    A serious mistake job seekers make is assuming the interviewer is competent or properly trained in how to conduct job interviews! In my experience as an employment mediator, ill-trained job interviewers are all too common. Companies routinely find themselves in legal hot water promoting individuals into management and then “turning them loose” in job interview settings.

    The one thing that has been consistent is the inconsistency of job interview questions. Job seekers should understand that the person doing the interview might not be the sharpest knife in the drawer. He or she may not have been adequately trained. Job interviewers routinely ask illegal or improper questions either out of ignorance or deliberately with the intent to discriminate against certain groups. That makes learning to give good job interview answers and asking good job interview questions so important. The questions asked at job interviews often hide what the job interviewer really wants or needs to know! One of the things in the job interview process for the applicant involves discovering what that is. As a job seeker, why am I being asked these interview questions?

    For example, the interviewer asks, “Have you had challenges working in various cultural workplace settings?” From my experience, here is what the job interviewer is really asking. “Have you had trouble dealing with different racial groups?” When preparing for a job interview spend time investigating the business. You should learn about the company’s history and what it does for the industry. Review the company’s website and its about us page. I would be looking at how well it treated its employees with things like salaries, benefits and promotional opportunities. Ask the interviewer questions such as:

    “What are the company’s goals?”
    “Where does the company see itself in five, ten years?”
    “Why is the company a good fit for you?”
    “Why will the company be a good fit for me?”

    Try to find out how well the company is doing financially. It would be to the job interviewee’s advantage to know if the company is going to be around for a while. You could do some research with the Chamber of Commerce and the Better Business Bureau. I would make inquiries with local, state and federal consumer advocacy groups for any complaints filed against the employer.

    Is it on the verge of layoffs that could include the position applied for?
    Is the business going to be sold in the near future?
    Are their any bankruptcy issues?
    Does the organization have a history of employment complaints on file with state and federal agencies?
    Are there any employees that you know personally, who could give some insight into the “culture” of the organization and its management?

    Interviewees are not just interviewing to get a job; they should interview the company and job to get them!

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